Tag Archives: Jesus

Inside Out

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Can you control your thoughts?  Don’t think about a red door.  Can you do that?  How about things you really wish you didn’t think?  How can you control those?  Not by willpower, right?  You can’t tell yourself, “I won’t think that…”

Bruce Cockburn had a great line about that: “When thoughts you tried to leave behind keep sniping from the dark…” (from “Southland of the Heart”).   You’ve probably seen things you can’t “un-see.”  Thought things you wish you didn’t.  How can we get rid of those?  It’s not by telling ourselves to be nice, to follow the rules.  You can’t do it from the “outside in.”  It has to happen from the “inside out.”

“Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.’ ”” (Matthew 15:10-11)

““Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’ ”” (Matthew 15:17-20)

In that culture, part of how you became righteous was by strictly following the rules of what and what not to eat.  Jesus said eating pork doesn’t show you to be morally defiled, your words do, since they reflect the condition of your heart.  How about you; how is your heart?  Have you ever entertained or expressed any of the thoughts in Jesus’ short list of examples?  Me too.  We cannot control our hearts and thoughts.  We cannot cleanse ourselves from the inside out.

But Jesus offers to do just that:

“On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive…” (John 7:37-39a)

He was making good on this promise from God:

“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” (Ezekiel 36:25-27)

If you open up a spring into a muddy pond, eventually the water in that pond will become pure.  When Jesus gives a believer His Spirit, He changes that person’s heart, from the inside out.  We become “transformed by the renewing of our minds” (Romans 12:2).

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

A Closer Walk

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It was the religious people who gave Jesus fits.  Jesus showed great compassion to those who were stuck in sin.  Jesus loved the unlovable, not by overlooking their bad stuff but by showing them the path to forgiveness, restoration and freedom.  But the religious people, the self-righteous, legalistic, judgmental people?  Jesus blasted them with harsh criticism.  Because He loved them, too, and they were traveling a far more dangerous road.  When you are in trouble, it is far more dangerous if you either don’t realize it, or pretend that you are not.

After being challenged one day because His disciples were not strictly following the religious ritual of hand washing before eating, Jesus turned on His accusers.  He pointed out how they used religious tradition to thwart the real purposes of God.  (See Matthew 15:1-20).  He said:

“You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’”” (Matthew 15:7-9)

When people try to make themselves righteous, they do so by following religious rules.  The problem with that approach is that, inevitably, they begin to keep score, becoming proud and looking down on others.  When people try to make themselves righteous, they become self-righteous.

Much of the time, religious rules are designed and followed to make a person look good to others.  Instead of expressing genuine love for God, rule-followers say, “Look at me, people; I’m religious, I’m better than you…”  Sometimes when people say things in a way that sounds religious, they do it for the same motive.  But God says, when people “honor Me with their lips, but not their hearts” they are “far from Me.”   Their worship does not cause them to draw close.  No matter how religious it sounds, their worship has no real effect.  It is “in vain,”  which means it is empty.

God’s Word is given to us with the purpose of drawing us into a living and loving relationship with Him.  You don’t form that kind of relationship with anyone by following rules and keeping score.  That, in a nutshell, is the problem with most religion.  It’s why religion doesn’t work.

But relationship does.  You want to draw close to God?  Stop being religious, and get close to Jesus.

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

 

Imposs-ability

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What the heck just happened?  Or, what was that all about?  When you read about Jesus, you may find yourself scratching your head, asking that kind of question.  Good!  If you want to get the most out of Jesus, you have to ask.  Because Jesus frequently used object lessons, where there was more to be learned in what just happened than there was in what He said.  Here’s a good example:

“During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if (since) it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.” (Matthew 14:25-32 – I’ve changed “if” to “since” in v. 28 for clarity)

What was that all about?  What just happened?  One obvious lesson is this: When  Jesus asks the impossible, keep your focus on Jesus, not on all the scary things that hinder you.  Jesus let Peter learn that truth through what happened to him.  Jesus underlined the principle with what He said to Peter:

…“You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”” (Matthew 14:31b)

That important principle, is repeated in the Book of Hebrews:

” Therefore, …, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  [How can we do that?] Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, ….” (Hebrews 12:1-2 – excerpts plus my question in brackets)

Jesus frequently asks or motivates us to do things considered impossible in the world.  Impossible things like forgiving.  There are times that forgiveness seems as impossible as walking on water.  But, when you fix your eyes on Jesus, and not on all the hurt, when you allow faith to push aside doubt, you can walk across that impossible “water,” you can walk toward Jesus.

That’s just one example.  When Jesus asks the impossible, do what Peter did.  Call out to Jesus and say, “Lord, since it is You, tell me to do the right thing, the thing that looks so impossible.”  Then trust.  Likely, you will be amazed, as were His disciples on that windy night:

“And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”” (Matthew 14:32-33)

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Why and How

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Do you want to know how Jesus walked on water?  You’ve probably heard people telling jokes about walking on water (I think my wife walked on water once when she saw a snake) but how did Jesus do it?  What Jesus told His disciples gives us a clue.

“When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”” (Matthew 14:26-27)

You may want to review how Jesus set this experience up (See: Jesus Throws a Combination).  Point is, they were really terrified.  When you first experience terror, it’s like suddenly falling.  Most people scream and their arms fly out involuntarily.  Some faint.  Like that time your brother pranked you with a fake spider that dropped on your head?  Like that.  Jesus set that up.  He deliberately terrified them.

And then, He told them three things, important things.  Things He wanted them to really know.  Us too.  Two of those things were commands:

  • Take courage!
  • Don’t be afraid

Essentially, “Stop freaking out and get a grip.  Allow your heart to be filled with understanding and confidence.”  And then, “Don’t become afraid in the future.”

But it’s what Jesus said in between those two commands that is the key to why they make sense.  (It’s also the key to how He walked on water.)  It’s not clear in the English translations, but Jesus pronounced the Holy Name of God, applying it to Himself.  He said, “I Am!”  Which meant, “I am God!”  In our culture, where people use the names for God in a casual and disrespectful way, it’s hard to understand what a big deal this would have been.  But know this: when Jesus said those words in public (John 8:58-59), the people picked up rocks and tried to kill Him.

Jesus could have gone with the disciples in the boat.  But He sent them off by themselves, into a developing storm and came to them, walking on the water.  He intentionally blew their minds, shaking them loose from everything they thought they understood.  Then, with them in that vulnerable condition, He explained, “You can take courage and confidence; you can put away fear.”  Why? “Because I, Jesus, am God. With Me, all things are possible.”  That is why Jesus walked on water, so they would know that in their bones.

So then, how did He walk on water?   Same answer.  He is God; He did it any way He wanted to.  Sorry about that…   But the important thing is to know why He did it, to fully understand it and believe that He is God, take courage and put away all fear.

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Jesus Throws a Combination

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In a fistfight, an uppercut rarely works by itself.  You need a combination, at least two punches, deployed in quick succession and without a pause.  The most basic combo starts with a jab, to distract your opponent, followed by a cross, to take his head off.

Jesus threw a combination of miracles at His disciples, first to startle them and then to take their heads off.  His “jab” was multiplying 5 loaves of bread to feed many thousands of people.  Then, immediately, He threw a “right cross” – walking on the water.  When you study this “one, two punch,” of miracles in Matthew 14, you begin to see many layers of meaning and purpose.  But first, let’s focus on the word “immediately.”  Both Matthew and Mark say these two events were a one, two punch; Jesus set up the second one immediately.

” Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.” (Matthew 14:22, NIV)

Why immediately?

Consider the flow of this:  First, Jesus shows them He can miraculously multiply bread.  He throws them off balance.  They are amazed and awestruck, but they are also feeling secure, because Jesus is with them and He can do anything.  Then immediately Jesus sends them off on their own.  They think, “No problem, we can do this; we’re good at rowing.”  But then, just when they feel competent and in control, a terrifying wind comes up against them.

“… but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.” (Matthew 14:23b-24)

 First they pull harder; “Come on guys, we got this… ”  Then they become fatigued.  And frightened, fighting off panic.  Their competence and camaraderie evaporates as the wind blows harder and the waves buffet them with menacing power.  The storm intensifies, continuing on through the night until after 3:00 in the morning.

Then, BOOM!  The second punch.

“During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”” (Matthew 14:25-27)

Why did Jesus set that up immediately?  What was He trying to do to them, sending them from their confident glow in His presence to a terrifying ordeal in the midst of their comfort zone?  Jesus set up the first miracle by saying, “You feed these thousands of people.”  Their response was “There’s no way we could do that!”  With His first punch, Jesus did it, He fed the people.  Then, immediately, He sent them off to do something they were sure they could do.   Only to discover they could not.  In the midst of their fatigue and panic, here came Jesus, walking to them on the water!

One, two punch.  Before we continue to look at the rest of what this means, ponder the word, immediately, and let Jesus knock your head off.

Enough

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The next time you are running low on food and 5000 men show up for dinner with their wives and kids, you might want to review how Jesus showed His disciples to handle it (You can read it in Matthew 14:13-21).  But most of us won’t ever be in that situation; is there anything in this episode for us?  Anything that we can apply to life as we experience it, one ordinary day after another?

When preachers deal with this passage, their points typically go something like:

–   “When Jesus gives you something impossible to do, He will make it possible.”

–   “Don’t worry about what you don’t have; bring what you do have to Jesus and give it to Him”

Those are great principles and make compelling sermons, but how do they apply to us in our every day circumstances?    Another way to ask that question is, “Can you think of any example in your own life where these principles were applied?”    We all know stories of great missionaries who lived like this, but what about the rest of us “Joe the Plumber” kind of people?

The lessons that Jesus demonstrated that night, feeding 5000 families, were not simply for the disciples.  All those people in the crowd were fed, too.  Jesus was showing them something, too.  But what?

As you ponder those questions, consider this:  Jesus taught us, every day, as we pray, to ask God, for bread – daily bread.  Enough for the day.  In that prayer, Jesus was building on God’s training protocol for the Israelites, as they faced starvation in the desert.  Each day, He provided just enough manna for their needs that day.  No more, no less, except the day before the Sabbath.  On that day He provided a double portion, so they could rest on the following day.  “Give us today, our daily bread.”

As you face today, there is no way for you to know what the day holds, or how much “daily bread” you will need.  But God does.  Just before Jesus told us to pray, “give us today our daily bread,” He said:

“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:7-8, NIV)

Maybe your daily bread today will include food for 5000.  Maybe it will be strength and courage to make it through the day.  He knows.

Quote: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Blinded by What You Think You Know

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If you put an old man in a short-skirted cheerleader outfit, most people driving by will think they saw a young woman.  Researchers have proved that we tend to see what we expect to see.  Our expectations limit what we experience.  That’s the reason so many of Jesus’ neighbors from His hometown didn’t “see” Him!

” When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor.” And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith. “ (Matthew 13:53-58)

The people that knew Jesus as a little kid, mostly couldn’t “see” Who He was!  Why not?  They were limited by their expectations.  They were blinded by what they thought they knew about Him.

People have that same problem today.  When people think they know everything there is to know, they rarely learn anything new.  That is true for most hard core atheists and it is also true for most dogmatic theologians.  If Jesus hasn’t surprised you and confounded you, perhaps you haven’t really “seen” Him.  Put down your preconceived ideas of what is possible, and let Jesus show you Who He is!

Quote: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Bubbling Up with Life

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They’d been using it for thousands of years but didn’t know how it worked – not until 150 years ago.  Talking about yeast.  Did you know it is alive?  And when it’s warm and wet, yeast grows and multiplies so fast it makes rabbits look like amateurs.  One tablespoon of yeast contains over 140 billion little yeastie guys, all ready to get started transforming your next batch of bread dough from a gooey lump of paste into a puffy, yummy wonder, all set for baking.

That’s how the Kingdom of Heaven works, too.  It grows and multiplies because it is ALIVE!  Religion is mostly dead – a bunch of strict rules and boring ritual.  But the Kingdom is alive with the Holy Spirit and growing.  It can take the gooey lump of paste that is dead humanity and gradually transform it into a growing, yummy wonder, filled with new life and all set for heaven.

But don’t take my word for it; Jesus said it first:

“He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.”” (Matthew 13:33)

You don’t have to know how yeast works to make bread.  You simply mix it into your dough and wait.  The yeast does the work because it is alive.   You don’t have to know how the Holy Spirit works to be transformed by His life and become part of the Kingdom of Heaven.  You simply have to acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God, trust Him and surrender to Him.  He causes the Spirit to be born in your soul and bring you into eternal life.  The Spirit does the work, because He is alive.

That’s why this thing is called Fresh Bread of Life.

Quote: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Still Growing

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When I first heard the rumor, I was skeptical.  But recent research has backed it up: Facebook is about to decline.  It was a pretty impressive run – more like an explosive flash in the pan.  But Facebook is about to follow CB radios, Hula Hoops and Bell Bottoms off into the pastures of relative obscurity.  Seems like nothing but nothing keeps on growing; every trend has its few years of popularity and then it wanes.

Everything, that is, except for the impact on the world of a homeless, itinerant teacher from the lesser regions of a conquered country the size of New Hampshire, Who was tortured to death 2000 years ago.  His followers, who originally numbered only 11, have added to their number.

Before He was crucified, Jesus made a preposterous prediction about how His “Kingdom” would grow:

” He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.”” (Matthew 13:31-32)

At last count (2010), people who called themselves Christians accounted for roughly 1/3 of the world population.  That number is still growing…

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Pulling Weeds

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Why would God allow evil to exist in His world?  Why wouldn’t He simply wipe out everyone who was evil?  Here’s a couple of questions to think about:

  1. In any war to eradicate evil, is it only the guilty who are injured or killed?
  2. If God were to wipe out everyone who had any evil impulses, would you survive?

” Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ “ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ “ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ”” (Matthew 13:24-30)

God has created a unique environment called earth, a place where life is possible – even conscious life that thinks and chooses.  In His wisdom He allows that life to grow for now, even the “weeds,” the ones who choose evil. It is important to consider your own life and how you grow.  Are you wheat or weeds?  Most of us, if we are honest, will acknowledge some dandelions in among the daisies of our life.

That is why Jesus came.  He can fix that.  There is a time coming when that fix will make all the difference for you…

” Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matthew 13:36-43,)

Quotes: The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.